Pull of the Heart
by meganchuu
Summary: Kuroko gets hit by a motorcycle after playing basketball with Aomine. Aomine goes to the hospital to see Kuroko. The wound isn't serious.. right? Shounen ai, read at your own risk! T for swearing and maybe other things in the future.
1. Chapter 1

Pull of the Heart - Chapter 1

Kuroko gets hit by a motorcycle after playing basketball with Aomine. Aomine goes to the hospital to see Kuroko. The injury isn't serious .. right? Shounen ai, read at your own risk! T for swearing ! This is also when Aomine and Kuroko are still in middle school.

Foreword: Hello, I'm meganchuu ! This is my first fanfic, so please enjoy it even though I'm a newbie~ I never imagined I'd ever want to start writing my own story but hey, there is a first for everything, right ? Since its summer I've had a lot of time on my hands so I decided to try something new. Writing a story for my current favorite OTP, Aokuro!  
Also there might be some small punctuation errors since I'm not too sure about quotations and such. Please put up with me~

* * *

"I'll see you tomorrow, Tetsu."

Kuroko gives him a tiny smile. "Alright."

They bump fists and as he walks away from Kuroko, Aomine scoops up his basketball. It is around eight o'clock in the evening as Aomine and Kuroko part from the basketball courts. Teiko had a match earlier that day against another middle school (which they won, _of course_), but Aomine and Kuroko still practiced together anyways.

Recently, Aomine felt a bit strange since he seemed to unconsciously staring at Kuroko's blue eyes or pale skin. Like a part inside of Aomine was pulling him towards the shorter boy. Today he felt the pull once again when he saw Kuroko's slender neck and face covered in sweat. However, he usually managed to brush it off before the tug became stronger.

_"Maybe I'm not getting enough sleep,"_ he thinks to himself as he walks but dismisses the thought shortly after. About fifteen minutes later, it begins to rain heavily.

_"I wonder if Tetsu reached home already," _he wonders as he starts to run to his apartment. The weird feeling had already disappeared into the back of his mind, long forgotten.

xxx

Its around ten at night when Aomine gets out of the shower. There are still water drops resting on his dark blue hair and falling down his tanned skin.

His apartment isn't a big one, but he doesn't mind. It took him a long time to convince his parents to allow him to live by himself. He stares out of his apartment's balcony when he sees a flash of thunder which illuminates the heavy rain fall.

_"Its still raining so hard," _Aomine thinks to himself as he reaches to grab the cell off his messy bed. Just as he reaches for the dark blue cellphone the device rings, surprising Aomine. He peers at the caller's name and picks up. Its Momoi Satsuki, manager of Teiko's besketball team and his childhood friend.

"Aomine-kun?" Her voice is cracked, like she'd been crying recently.

"..What happened to you, Satsuki?" Usually, Momoi did not call him unless it was something urgent.

"Its not about what happened to me.. It's about what happened to Tetsu-kun," she says before exhaling a long breath.

"..What do you mean, Satsuki?" Aomine starts to feel panic.

"When he was running home this evening, Tetsu-kun.. He got hit by a motorcycle," her voice breaks on the last few words.

"I was walking back home after getting some groceries when I saw a familiar looking blue haired boy sprawled in the middle of the intersection," she momentarily paused but continued on, "I realized.. it was Tetsu-kun!" she starts to cry, loud and wailing.

Aomine's head starts to reel and almost drops the phone. He feels sick, like something is wedged inside his throat. He can barely choke out the words to ask her which hospital and room. As soon as he finds out, Aomine charges out the door, onto the street, and into the rain.

_"No.. this can't be happening!" _he thinks to himself as he grits his teeth and runs against the rain.

xxx

It takes Aomine ten minutes flat to get to the hospital. Usually it would take about twenty or so, but he didn't (or more like, _couldn't) _stop running. While he checks for which floor to go to, the rain which collected on his body and clothes as he ran leaves a tiny puddle on the floor around his shoes. Aomine is completely drenched and the nurses are giving him dirty looks for making the hospital floor slippery but he could care less.

_"Tetsu.. I need to see Tetsu," _he thinks as he runs up the stairs to the third floor, not bothering to wait for the elevator.

When Aomine finally reaches Room 304, he practically bursts in to see Momoi talking to the doctor (or was). Now they just stared at him in surprise. But Aomine sees past them as his gaze rests on the blue haired boy on the hospital bed.

Although Kuroko normally looked delicate with his pale skin and small figure, he looked especially fragile hooked up to the hospital machines. His usual wide eyes which held his strong gaze were closed, the gaze gone as well. His breathing came out in small shallow breaths and every time it did, a small beep would come out of the machine beside the hospital bed. He was still in the same white t-shirt and black shorts Aomine saw him in earlier at the baskeball court. However, now his arms and legs were wrapped in bandages and crimson blood was clearly visible on his shirt.

"Aomine-kun!" Momoi cries as she runs up to him, gripping the front of his shirt with tears still running down her face. The doctor approaches them and introduces himself but Aomine doesn't pay attention. All he can do is gaze at Kuroko's small body on the hospital bed to make sure it wouldn't suddenly break. However, he does catch the words 'large amount of blood loss but he'll survive." Momoi is sobbing into Aomine's shoulder as the doctor leaves to attend to another emergency patien but he doesn't care. He still feels numb after seeing Kuroko and hearing the doctor's words.

Momoi eventually lets go of Aomine and leaves, telling him she'd let him be with Kuroko since she already had the chance to before. She promises she'll return early tomorrow to check on Kuroko since her parents refused to let her sleep at the hospital.

"You should go home and get some rest too, Aomime-kun. I'll notify the other members tomorrow," she tells him as she exits the room and slides the door shut. Finally, him and Kuroko are alone.

As Aomine slowly walks toward the hospital bed, the only sounds that could be heard were the beeping of Kuroko's heart monitor and his own sneakers squeaking loudly against the while tiles. When he finally reaches Kuroko's bed, all Aomine can do is stare down at him.

"How could all of this have happened to _you_?" he wonders aloud. "It seemed like a normal day until all of this happened," Aomine speaks audibly to himself before closing his eyes and letting out a sigh.

* * *

Okay, first chapter completed ! Hopefully you found it interesting enough to keep reading the next chapter when it comes out~ please look forward to it! Reviews are also nice, they help me improve my writing! They also inspire me to finish writing following chapters quicker, aha c:


	2. Chapter 2

Pull of the Heart - Chapter 2

Foreword: Hi again, thanks for the favorites, reviews, and other things! I edited the first chapter into small paragraphs for sure and for this one as well. I'm actually surprised that people have favorited and subscribed to this story even though I'm a nub, aha. Well, hope you enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Kuroko slowly opened his eyes. The bright hospital lights blind him as he does, but a dark figure manages to block some of them.

"_Ah, it's Aomine-kun,"_ Kuroko thinks to himself. "Aomine-kun, hello."

Aomine looked surprised for a moment but his facial expression changes back to its usual gaze. He ruffles Kuroko's hair as he tells him, "Tetsu, you have the worst luck ever."

"I don't think the driver saw me, Aomine-kun. After all, not many people notice me at first," Kuroko calmly explains as he sits up.

"Bullshit," Aomine retorts.

He sees a few scratches on Kuroko's pale face as he meets his gaze. Aomine feels like finding the motorcyclist who hit Kuroko and beating the shit out of him right then and there, but he doesn't want to leave his friend's side.

As Aomine pulls up a chair beside Kuroko's bed, he tells him, "I was worried, you know."

Kuroko shows him yet another small smile as he responds with an apology. The strange feeling returned from the back of Aomine's mind, making his heart beat a bit faster.

"I think I'll get some rest now," Aomine tells Kuroko as he turns around in the chair, rests his head against his arms on the bed, and closes his eyes.

Kuroko doesn't protest Aomine staying at the hospital overnight and responds with a quiet okay as he lies down again and closes his eyes as well.

x

At least an hour and a half must have passed because the lights are now off in the hospital. A nurse had come earlier before to remove the machines attached to Kuroko since they found out his injury was not life threatening.

Silence now filled the room, except for the sound of the light breeze blowing through the thin hospital curtains. Even after this though, Aomine still couldn't fall asleep even though he felt tired as hell and he definitely didn't want to strike a conversation with Kuroko. The strange tugging feeling inside him was still apparent and he wouldn't want to make it worse by having to see Kuroko's face up close or by hearing his voice.

He was reflecting on what the strange feeling could possibly be when he felt Kuroko shift around slowly in the hospital bed.

"_Is he still awake too? _Aomine wonders when suddenly his chin is titled upwards.

Aomine opens his eyes in surprise and immediately feels soft lips press against his. Its Kuroko, with his eyes squeezed shut as he kisses Aomine. He tasted slightly like blood but instead of containing the normal metallic flavor, Kuroko's blood seemed slightly sweet.

As Kuroko pulls back into a sitting position and opens his eyes, they widen ever so slightly in shock as he realizes Aomine is still awake and after turning around in the chair, he was gaping at Kuroko in shock.

However, Kuroko reverts back to his normal calm expression as he simply tells Aomine, "I like you. I've liked you for a long time."

Suddenly, the tugging feeling inside Aomine hits him twice as hard as any other time in the past. He finally realizes this strange feeling he'd been having towards Kuroko recently was _attraction _and that he could no longer hold it back_._

Something audibly snaps inside him.**"Fuck,"**Aomine says aloud.

Before Kuroko can say anything, he is pushed back onto the bed with Aomine on top of him. Aomine isn't even sure if he's actually thinking right now or simply acting on instinct when he kisses Kuroko back. All he knows is that he needs to do this.

Kuroko's mouth opens slightly in shock and when it does, Aomine swiftly slides his tongue into the other's mouth. Kuroko doesn't try to stop him and instead, slips his tongue into Aomine's mouth. At the same time, his hands roam underneath the smaller boy's shirt but then abruptly stop once he feels Kuroko flinch in pain. Aomine pulls back and lifts up Kuroko's shirt to see that in addition to the wounds, the blood was beginning to seep through some of the bandages. From the moonlight passing through the open window, Aomine could also see large bluish black bruises patterning the front of Kuroko's body.

"_Shit," _Aomine thinks to himself, _"What am I doing to an injured person, especially since this injured person is Tetsu?"_

He takes his hands out of under Kuroko's shirt while pulling it back down. "Sorry Tetsu, I-," Aomine begins while moving away from the small boy but is cut off when Kuroko grabs in wrists and slightly pulls him back forward on top of him.

Kuroko's hair is disheveled and he is slightly panting from their kiss. His shirt is still not completely in place and showed some of his flat stomach that contained a dark bruise on it. His strong blue eyes which look even bluer in the moonlight meet Aomine's darker ones.

There is a moment of silence between them in which they locked gazes before Kuroko asks him, "Does this mean we both feel the same way?"

Aomine ponders this question for a moment. "_Does it? If I don't say no now, we can't go back to just being teammates in the future." _

But he knows the answer to this right away although he wouldn't have known it yesterday or even a few hours ago. Not until just now.

Aomine looks down at his closest friend and teammate before lying down beside him and lazily wrapping an arm around Kuroko before answering, "What do you think, Tetsu?"

Kuroko turns to Aomine before giving him a tiny smile and responding with a barely audibly "Yes."

Somehow, after this short conversation they both felt physically and mentally drained. They closed their eyes and together just like that, they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Well, how'd you like chapter two? It was slightly shorter than chapter one, wasn't it ? The ending might have seemed a bit OOC but it's part of my plan.. I think, LOL. Also, sorry! The ending was sudden. I might add on to it in the future.

Since this is my first time ever submitting to I was confused on how to edit stories and such but now I think I'm beginning to get the hang of it (hopefully). :'D

Also, the next chapter may not come out for a while since I wrote chapter 1 and half of chapter 2 together in school which took me about a week /sob.

Reviews and favorites are always welcome! They help me improve my stories and give me hope that people are interested in my fanfics c:


	3. Chapter 3

Pull of the Heart Chapter 3

Foreword: Hello again! Sorry I haven't updated in a few days, I ran out of wifi /cries. Well, I had a feeling that the ending of chapter two was a bit abrupt so here is an add-on to the ending of it! It's critical to the story, I think, aha.

Also, as a way to make up my lateness, I made sure to make this chapter longer :D Hope you enjoy it.

* * *

Kuroko woke up covered in sweat. He glanced at the clock in the room. It was three o'clock in the morning and he felt sick and disorientated. Aomine was slightly away from Kuroko in the bed, his long body sprawled in different directions.

Kuroko lifted his shirt and touched a hand to abdomen. Once he pulled it out, his palms were covered in crimson blood.

Kuroko struggled out of the bed and staggered over to a drawer on the other side of the room. He knew it contained small medical supplies since he checked the drawers previously. He took off his shirt and immediately began to unravel the stained bandages around his midriff. He felt even dizzier due to the strong scent of blood but continued on. After successfully removing the bandages, he deposited them into a waste basket beside the drawer.

Next, Kuroko picked up the new roll of bandages and began to wrap them around the front of his body quietly. He didn't want Aomine to suddenly wake up and start to worry about him.

"_I don't want to trouble him even further." _Kuroko thought to himself as he finally managed to finish wrapping the bandages hastily around himself.

Kuroko slowly walked back towards the bed and collapsed on top of it. He managed to pull Aomine back onto the bed but felt completely drained after.

"_Why am I bleeding so much?" _Kuroko thought to himself but fell asleep shortly after as soon as he tried to think of a reason why.

x

Aomine woke up with his arm still wrapped around a sleeping Kuroko. He looked so peaceful with the sunlight coming through the window softly highlighting his facial features. His eyelids were closed, showing his long eyelashes and his chest slowly rose and fell. Seeing him asleep like this gave Aomine a sense of wanting to protect him from anything else that might harm him in the future.

Aomine glanced at the clock. It was eight o'clock in the morning. He would've liked to kept staring at Kuroko's sleeping face but he didn't want anyone else to see them together like this. Aomine reluctantly detached himself from Kuroko and sat back down in the chair beside the bed. Luckily, he did this before a nurse dropped by to give Kuroko breakfast.

As Aomine swiped an apple off the plate, he said, "Tetsu, wake up. Breakfast is here for you."

Kuroko slowly opened his eyes which held a dazed expression as he sat up and stared at Aomine.

"Aomine-kun, yesterday wasn't a dream, was it?" Kuroko asked almost hesitantly while dropping his gaze to the plate in front of him.

"Of course not, you idiot. Why would it be?" Aomine mumbled sheepishly as he lightly hit Kuroko on the head.

Kuroko said nothing back, but Aomine could see the edges of his lips slightly turn up as he began to eat.

Suddenly, he stopped eating. "Aomine-kun, you stole my apple," Kuroko stated plainly.

"Oh well," replied Aomine as he bit into the red fruit anyways.

x

Later in the afternoon, Momoi dropped by with other members from their basketball while Aomine returned to his apartment to take a shower and gather a few belongings. He decided that he would stay at the hospital with Kuroko until he was discharged, the sense of wanting to protect him from further harm still evident in his mind.

When he returned in the evening, everyone had already left except for Akashi, Teiko's basketball team captain and also the person who discovered Kuroko's ability in basketball. He was known for being calculative and a master at shogi. Therefore, he was elected as captain immediately among them when they voted.

However, he managed to give off a slight sense of unease with his strangely colored eyes. As Aomine sat down in the chair beside the hospital bed, Akashi simply stared at Kuroko and him with his piercing gaze.

"Daiki, have you been here the whole day with Tetsuya?" He suddenly asked.

"Yeah, I have," Aomine responded quickly.

Akashi grinned slightly. "Good, watch over him. You're Tetsuya's light, so make sure you stay by his side." He continued on, "After all, a shadow needs it light to survive." He said as he walked out the door, sliding it firmly shut behind him.

There was a small moment of silence after Akashi left in which Aomine and Kuroko simply glanced at each other.

"Akashi is always like that, it's weird," Aomine said as he relaxed back on the chair and let out a sigh.

"It's okay, he's just like that," Kuroko flatly responded.

"That's true." Aomine agreed and then asked, "Anyways, your being discharged in a few days, right Tetsu?"

"Yes, once my injury closes up." Kuroko responded.

"Well once you do, we have a lot of practicing to catch up on!" Aomine said with a grin.

"Of course," Kuroko agreed with an almost grin as they bumped fists.

x

The next day no visitors except for Momoi dropped by. Since Kuroko wasn't allowed to walk around because his wounds were still healing, him and Aomine simply talked in the tiny hospital room.

Aomine learned a lot more about his teammate than he ever did before. He was good at simple magic tricks such as making a coin disappear (he wasn't surprised at this skill since it was _Tetsu _who could do it), and that he found basketball interesting once he saw it on tv.

Kuroko also learned more about his counterpart. He learned Aomine wanted to be a police officer (if he didn't make it as a professional basketball player), and that he was good at catch small animals and insects.

The more they learned about these simple things about each other that for once, hardly involved basketball, the closer they became.

x

The day after was Friday although Aomine didn't go to school the day before, Momoi visited the hospital to force Aomine to go to school.

"Aomine-kun, you have to go today, we have basketball practice after school!" She exclaimed as she tried to convince him to leave.

"No, I have to watch over Tetsu!" He retorted as he stood his ground.

They continued to argue until Kuroko's soft voice called out "Aomine-kun."

They both stopped and stared at Kuroko.

"I'll be fine here by myself for a few hours." He continued on, "Also, isn't our next match against a tough team? You need to practice," He said in a calm tone.

Aomine considered what he heard. _"But I don't want to leave Tetsu alone.." _He thought to himself.  
"Yeah Aomine-kun, maybe Tetsu-kun wants some time to sleep since he can't when you're here," Momoi added on.

"_Well when we are together, he stays up and doesn't get rest." _ Aomine realized as he thought again.

Aomine let out a sigh. "Fine, I'll go. But only for today since we have practice!"

"Great, thanks for your help, Tetsu-kun." Momoi said as she pushed Aomine out the door.

"No problem, have fun at school," he said to both of them as Momoi walked out and slid the door shut behind her.

x

A few minutes after Aomine and Momoi left, Kuroko got up from the bed. He slowly began to make his way towards the drawer which contained the medical supplies. His wounds still hurt and he was afraid they would start to bleed again. Once Kuroko picked up the last roll of bandages, he made his way towards the door as well.

He finally managed to locate the bathroom and slowly walked towards it. Once he made his way inside, he was was thankfully it was empty.

Kuroko began to unravel the stained bandages until he could finally see the large cut surrounded by dark bruises and blood on his abdomen clearly in the bathroom lights.

He soaked a paper towel and began to use it to wipe away the blood around his wound, shuddering when the cold cloth came into contact with his warm skin.

After doing this, he began to wrap the new bandages around his injury, cringing when he tightened them. He made sure to leave the bathroom clean as if he was never there once he finished applying the bandages around his stomach.

"_I don't want anybody else to find out," _Kuroko thought to himself as he made his way out of the bathroom.

Once he reached his room he immediately laid down again. Kuroko felt exhausted just from walking the short distance there and back.

"_I'm losing my strength," _He thought bitterly.

Kuroko sighed and covered himself with the blanket. _"Maybe I'll get some rest before Aomine-kun comes back," _was his last thought before he fell asleep.

x

"Tetsu, I'm back," Aomine said as he entered the hospital room and sat down on the chair beside the bed.

It seemed like Kuroko was sleeping but he immediately opened his eyes and responded "Welcome back, Aomine-kun. How was practice?"

"It was pretty good, but it felt weird practicing without you since we always do." Aomine confessed and continued on, "Hurry up and get out of the hospital already so we can play again," Aomine said as he gripped Kuroko's hand.

"Yeah, I hope I can pkay again too," Kuroko responded quietly as he lightly squeezed Aomine's hand back.

x

Finally, it was the last night before Kuroko was to be discharged from the hospital.

They were both laying down in the hospital bed with their backs touching when Kuroko suddenly said, "Aomine-kun, let's go to the roof and see the stars."

Aomine turned around and stared at Kuroko's back in surprised and asked "Why? Can't you see them from this room?"

Kuroko glanced outside. "But the view is better from the hospital roof since it's past the layer of smog from the city. He turned around to face Aomine. "Also, I want to see them with you since they're the most visible now." He stated in a simple tone.

Aomine's heart beat a little bit faster as he looked away, slightly embarrassed. "Your directness astounds me sometimes," he admitted as he began to get off the bed.

"Is that bad?" Kuroko asked as he too, got up.

"Not necessarily," Aomine responded. He was usually accustomed to Kuroko's bluntness. Usually.

"Well, let's go," Aomine said as he grabbed Kuroko's hand and sneaked out of the hospital room.

Aomine was panting by the time they reached the roof door. It took him about ten minutes of dodging security guards in the hall and up two flights of stairs so that he wasn't seen.

Kuroko arrived a few minutes later, not breathless at all and perfectly fine. In fact, he looked a little sleepy. He didn't attract the attention the guards so he was able to take his time walking up the stairs.

Although Kuroko didn't tell Aomine, he needed the extra time since he felt weaker.

"_Must be because I lost blood before," _Kuroko thought quietly to himself.

"Well, open the damn door, Tetsu," Aomine snapped, still panting.

Aomine's outburst brought Kuroko back from his thoughts. "Okay, Aomine-kun," Kuroko responded as he pushed open the door with both hands.

The view was beautiful. The sky was covered with hundreds of tiny stars which illuminated the darkness. Only a few rooftops with flashing lights could be seen from their view, the rest consumed by the night. The roof was quiet except for the occasional sound of a car far below them on the ground.

"Thanks for coming up here with me Aomine-kun," Kuroko said as he walked past the empty clothing lines and rested his arms on the edge of a railing.

"Yeah, no problem," Aomine said as he joined him, his bad mood gone once he saw the view.

They didn't speak, but that was because there was nothing to say. They simply stared at the sky as they found each other's hands in the night and held them together.

Aomine glances at Kuroko, whose face was illuminated by the starlight.

His eyes were closed but his mouth was curved into a small smile as the breeze lightly moved his hair. He stared at Kuroko's smile. It always made his heart beat a bit quicker and before he knew it, he pressed his lips against Kuroko's. As Kuroko kissed him back, his eyes opened and dark blue irises met lighter ones reflected by the stars in the sky.

Aomine broke their kiss first. Seeing Kuroko kissing him made Aomine feel like doing more than just that but they could always do more after Kuroko was fully healed.

"Let's go back now, Tetsu. It's getting late," Aomine said as he turned around and walked back towards the door.

Kuroko exhaled slowly. "Okay," he said.

However, once Aomine's back was turned, Kuroko lifted up his shirt to check his wounds. There was a small red patch beginning to form through the layer of bandages the he applied earlier in the bathroom. He let out a small sigh as he pulled his shirt back down and took one last look before walking back inside the building.

* * *

Well here's the end of chapter 3 /cheers. I was actually in a slump when I wrote this so sorry if it sounds a bit cheesy, aha.

I'm considering that the next chapter will either be the last or second last chapter since I'm not good at writing long stories.

Please look forward to it!


	4. Chapter 4

Pull of the Heart Chapter 4

Foreword: Hello everyone, I'm still alive! Sorry for the long time lapse, I've been busy since semester two started as well as since I got a part-time job! Thanks a lot for being patient and waiting on this slow story. I hope you like this chapter! I was searching through my laptop and found it just sitting there. I wonder when I wrote it …

* * *

Aomine woke up early, excited that today Kuroko would be discharged from the hospital. As he shrugged off the blankets carefully (so that he wouldn't wake up Kuroko), Aomine thought,

"_Finally, things can go back to normal."_

But would they really? Now that Aomine realized his attraction for Kuroko, what would happen to their relationship?

"_Its fine since its Tetsu and I, we'll work things out," thought Aomine with a small smile. _

After getting ready and packing his things, Aomine walked up to the bed and looked down at Kuroko only to find him still sleeping.

"Oi, Tetsu, wake up!" he exclaimed.

"You're getting discharged today!"

But Kuroko didn't move. His hair was wispy around his pale face, covering his eyelids.

"Ah, honestly," Aomine said as yanked the blanket covering Kuroko off the smaller boy's body.

Suddenly, Aomine's eyes widened in horror.

The front of Kuroko's shirt was stained with blood, and so was his palm which must have been resting on it earlier. He looked pale, paler than ever before he almost seemed as white as the sheets on the bed to Aomine. He pushed Kuroko's hair back and could now see the sweat lightly covering his face. His expression clearly showed one of pain.

"TETSU!" Aomine yelled his close friend's name in shock.

Kuroko didn't even show a sign of hearing Aomine's outburst.

"I have to take him to the doctor's office," Aomine thought to himself as he quickly picked up Kuroko and sprinted for the door.

Aomine ran though the hallway with Kuroko in his arms. People stared as he ran by, but he could care less about them. All that mattered to him right now was Kuroko.

"_Shit, where is it?!" _he thought to himself as he ran by rooms, reading each sign while specifically looking for the one that indicated the doctor's office.

The hall seemed to stretch on forever, it was driving Aomine crazy. Finally, he found the room on the other end of the hallway. He burst in, not bothering to knock.

"Doctor!" he yelled, panic stricken.

The doctor spun around in his chair after dropping a pen on the floor. He looked tired as if he wasn't getting enough sleep but he suddenly became attentive once he saw Aomine carrying Kuroko and the front of both their shirts covered in crimson.

"Nurse!" The doctor yelled, "Quick, we have an emergency!"

X

Aomine was leaning on the hospital wall outside the emergency room, waiting. The doctor told him earlier that he wasn't allowed to go in until Kuroko was checked, much to his protest. His foot tapped the floor impatiently while he wondered what was happening to Kuroko when suddenly the doctor emerged from the emergency room looking tense.

"How is Tetsu?!  
Aomine demanded from the doctor as he pushed his foot off the wall and faced him.

"We've stitched the wound and it has stopped bleeding for now but we're not sure how long it'll be effective." The doctor added, "He's already lost a large amount of blood."

"Why won't he stop bleeding …?" Aomine asked hesitantly, slightly dreading the doctor's answer.

"It seems as if Kuroko-san has a vitamin B-12 deficiency," He continued on, "This means that his blood palettes count is decreasing which results in excessive blood loss."

"Why didn't anyone come by to check on his wounds?!" Aomine asked the doctor angrily.

"I'm sorry, we believed the wound was almost fully healed because Kuroko-san had said himself that he didn't want assistance!" The doctor replied, agitated by his own as well as the staff's carelessness. "Also, the bandages were not stained heavily although it seems like he'd been bleeding continuously for several days."

"What … how could that be possible?" Aomine asked in shock.

"_How could I have not noticed this myself?!" _he thought to angrily.

"I suspect he has been changing his bandages without telling anyone. I just got word from a nurse earlier that bandage rolls from Kuroko-san's room have disappeared." The doctor concluded.

Aomine stood there, frozen in shock. He couldn't say anything aloud, but his mind was processing everything too quickly. In his pockets, Aomine's hands balled tightly into fists.

"_Why didn't he tell me …?"_

"You can go in and see him now," the doctor said as he began to walk away from Aomine, bringing him back from his thoughts. "We'll try to completely stop the blood."

Aomine said nothing in response and he made his way towards the emergency room.

When Aomine stepped inside he saw Kuroko on the hospital bed looking the same as he did the first night he saw him after the accident.

However, his clothes were now changed to the pale purple smock hospital patients usually wore. In addition to this, he was hooked to even more machines and fluids then previously. It made Aomine wince.

A nurse was writing on a small clipboard, presumably on Kuroko's condition.

Kuroko's expression was a bit more pained. Although there was no blood visible on him, his brows were furrowed, and his eyes seemed to be shut with the slightest of force. The heart monitor beeped slowly, confirming his living existence, but Kuroko looked eerily still to Aomine.

"We're not sure when he'll wake up so you might have to wait a while," the nurse said to Aomine as she looked up.

"Please keep quiet and do not disturb him," she said as she exited the room quietly, leaving Kuroko and him alone in the room.

Aomine walked up to the bed and waited for Kuroko to wake up. Another ten minutes must have passed by although it felt like an hour but Kuroko still wouldn't stir. Aomine began pacing around the hospital room, too anxious to sit still and wait.

He stared at the room. It was a pale lilac color and was medium in size. However, the hospital machines and equipment left as much space to walk around as a small room. There was a single closed window facing Aomine. He walked over and pulled it open. The air in the room seemed too stale to breathe. As the white curtains began to sway, Aomine looked outside. He could see the roofs of the pale grey buildings and a bustling intersection a bit farther away below. It was a mild, clear day, perfect for being outside and exploring the city.

"_Outside is so alive but in here…" _Aomine thought to himself as he let out a small sigh.

Aomine wished he was outside with Kuroko and his other teammates, practicing basketball afterschool and then dropping by the local convenience store for a popsicle. After all, teenagers don't usually spend their free time in hospitals.

Aomine was still looking outside, lost in his thoughts when the nurse returned and wrote again on her small clipboard. She checked Kuroko's pulse which she noted down as well before leaving shortly after.

A few minutes after her departure, Kuroko finally began to open his eyes slowly. He felt weak, and simply stared at the ceiling. As he blinked, Kuroko felt the slight breeze caress his skin. He slightly shifted on the bed, facing the direction of the wind. Someone was there, blocking the brightness of the window…

Aomine heard the soft sound of the bed creaking when Kuroko shifted his bodily slightly. He turned around, not expecting Kuroko to be awake but light blue eyes stared at him. Aomine's eyes widened slightly as he moved away from the window towards the hospital bed.

"Tetsu! I was so worried!" Aomine said as he nearly shoved his face into the pale boy's.

"Why didn't you tell me anything?!" He demanded, agitated.

Aomine was angry at Kuroko but he was in fact, angrier at himself. Angry that he didn't notice Kuroko changing his bandages as well as for not noticing his friend getting weaker every day. These things made him feel like he didn't deserve to think of himself as Kuroko's closest friend. He felt a pang of guilt.

"I'm sorry, Aomine-kun, I shouldn't have hid it, huh…" he said, barely audible Aomine strained his ears to hear him.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," Aomine said softly, his anger already dispersed once he heard how weak Kuroko's voice was.

"I didn't want you to worry even more, Aomine-kun…" Tetsu said as he shifted his gaze behind Aomine towards the window.

He really did not want to make his best friend worry even more than he already way. After all, Aomine was skipping school and continuously staying at the hospital for him. But Kuroko felt like he had done the exact opposite of what he was thinking by not telling his friend and causing him to panic even more.

"Idiot, you made me worry even more," Aomine said as he lightly hit Kuroko on his head and left his hand resting on the boy's forehead.

Aomine lightly brushed away the stray hairs on Kuroko's forehead as he said, "Next time, you better tell me right away."

"I will," Kuroko said with a sigh, enjoying the calming gesture.

Aomine's hand lightly stroked his forehead making Kuroko relax visibly. The almost hypnotic movement made him gently close his eyes and shift back to face the ceiling. He could feel the tugging of sleep taking over him.

"Sorry, I'm going to get some rest, I'm so tired…" Kuroko said as he drifted back to unconsciousness.

Aomine gazed down at the blue haired boy. His facial features were more relaxed now in his sleep than earlier before. He could also see the slow, gently rise and fall of the blankets on Kuroko's body. It made him feel oddly relieved.

"That's fine, Tetsu." He continued on, "As long as you wake up after," Aomine whispered to the already asleep Kuroko.

X

In the afternoon, Aomine notified Momoi and his other teammates about Kuroko's current condition. They came to visit Kuroko quickly once they heard, however he was barely awake when they visited him. For short periods of time he would be conscious enough to speak briefly but would shortly drift back to sleep after a few minutes.

Although Kuroko's teammates wanted to stay the night in the hospital room as well, the doctor refused and said he would only allow one person by Kuroko's side in order to not disturb the other patients.

In the evening after everyone had left, Aomine continued to stay by Kuroko's side. The lights in the hall shut off as he pulled up a chair beside the hospital bed and turned off the room lights. Aomine was planning to sleep beside the bed when he heard a faint voice. It was Kuroko, regaining consciousness for the first time since the afternoon.

"Aomine-kun, you won't sleep beside me anymore?" Kuroko asked with a bit of sadness in his voice.

"Do you want me to?" Aomine asked, surprised by Kuroko's question.

"Yeah, I don't want to be alone," he continued on, "Sometimes I dream that I'll be left behind while everyone else goes ahead, the same nightmare every time," Kuroko said quietly as he began to drift back to sleep.

Aomine slowly climbed into the bed, worried that he might accidentally hurt Kuroko or make him feel uncomfortable. He finally settled himself comfortably with Kuroko resting on his arm.

He brushed a stray piece of hair from Kuroko's forehead as he said, "I won't leave you behind, I promise Tetsu."

Kuroko didn't respond.

* * *

Well that's the end of this chapter! I had a bit more of text but I'll either save it for chapter 5 or update this chapter and add it on later in the future. Who knows, because I don't, ahaha!

Thanks for everyone who has been writing reviews and giving me tips! There were some holes in the plot which I didn't realize before but thanks to you guys, I tried to make them a little less deep; sorry about that, really!

I'm not sure when the next chapter will be released but please wait for this slow author!

Reviews and likes are always appreciated! Thank-you, and see you soon!


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